The Konoha Project
by Lone Ronin
Summary: Neji is abducted and brainwashed, then rescued by Naruto and the other teams. They all have psychic powers and are on the run for their lives. AU, NejiShika, NaruHina
1. Pieces of a Broken Life

The Konoha Project

By: Lone Ronin

Author's Notes: I'm not a huge Sci-Fi fan, I think the genre got a really bad rep after "Battlefield Earth", the 4th "Star Trek" Movie and the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy. But there is one Sci-Fi movie I really love and that is "Serenity", this idea came to me after watching it. I'm combining it with elements of "The Chrysalids", "Judge Dredd" and "Total Recall" that weren't completely awful too. Basically poor Neji is a powerful psychic trying to escape from a dystopia with the aid of his friends while fighting the side effects of a brain washing attempt. Did I forget to mention the Neji/Shikamaru yaoi? No? Good. Let's move on.

Disclaimer: My therapist has finally made me aware of and accept the painful fact that Naruto belongs to Kishimoto. Excuse me while I cry over this.

Chapter 1: Pieces of a Broken Life

They were dressed in the finest silk and cotton robes, surrounded by beautiful plants and the latest décor. The latest scientific publications and diagrams were posted on the wall, many with his name on them. Hyuuga Neji smelled lavender in the air as he stood next to his desk, staring at the teacher as the other students filed into the classroom. Everyone sat down and took out their digital notebooks and laptop computers, except for Neji.

"Neji-kun, please sit down. It doesn't matter if you won that prestigious award last week that gave us more funding. We're not going to work on the next breakthrough in that AIDS vaccine project you started until you show proper manners." The teacher said gently.

"No, I will not sit down." Neji answered.

"You are not my teacher, and I know we are not in the Genji School for the Gifted, in the Kyoto prefecture on Earth. These classmates and the research you speak of do not exist. We are in space at a secret lab and you are the head researcher. I will not live a lie, no matter how attractive you all can make it. I see through the illusion, I will not accept this perverted existence." He continued.

"Stop fighting us Neji, believe me, it will be much easier this way." The teacher said as the shock ran through Neji's body and the program was shut down.

* * *

"He's fighting the programming again!" the assistant shut it down. 

Neji kicked and screamed in agony, he fought his bonds on the table so hard his bones would have started to break if they hadn't sedated and gagged him. He became aware of the cold sterile lab again and the various machines he was hooked up to designed to give him false sensory experiences.

"He should be as obedient as a puppy by now, what's taking so long?" Gaito demanded to know.

"Well, he is a psychic as well as a genius, Gaito-sama. We'll break him in, it will just take more time then usual." The head researcher calmly replied.

"You better hurry it up before Orochimaru-sama has our jobs."

"This is as fast as it goes."

"Excuse me, we're new around here, could you direct us to room 395?" a male computer technician asked as he and a female researcher in a lab coat approached them.

"You shouldn't be in here, this area is off limits to-" the head researcher began before the girl removed her tinted sunglasses and caused everyone to fall asleep with her gaze.

"Oh, Neji, what did they do to you?" Hinata quickly ran to the main computer panel and began deactivating the equipment he was hooked up to.

"Shino, how long do we have?" Shikamaru spoke into his wrist communicator.

"Be quick, I can't hold them off for too long. But don't be too quick, extracting him too fast from the bonds and brainwashing equipment could shock him."

* * *

"Neji, can you hear me?" a soft voice asked. 

The first thing Neji saw as the gag in his mouth and the vice on his head was removed was the sweet and round face of a girl who resembled him in pale eyes and gentle beauty.

It wasn't another illusion, her could read her mind and knew she meant well. Her clothes under her lab coat disguise were worn and she was awkard, being weighed down with weapons and equipment. But even with the cloth keeping her hair back, her name came to him clear as day.

"You're Hinata." Neji said.

"Y-you, remember me?" she asked hopefully.

"Listen to me, I don't know how much you remember, but you have to trust us, we're here to help you." The male with her said.

He certainly didn't seem happy as he assessed Neji, but his anger wasn't direct towards him, but the people in the lab and what they had done to him.

"You're telling the truth, I can always tell." Neji answered before two more people who he somehow knew were on his side came running into the lab amid shouts and gunfire.

"Naruto? Kiba?" Neji asked.

"So you do remember us, I told you he'd never let those sickos totally brainwash him." Kiba said with a grin, showing off his fangs as Naruto locked the door behind them, shutting out security.

A girl's face suddenly appeared on a nearby screen.

"Naruto, hurry up! What's taking you guys so long? Shino can only screw up their system for so long, we're right above you!" she yelled impatiently.

"One sec, Sakura-chan, we just have to make an exit!" Naruto answered as he and Kiba quickly set a few grenades and threw them up to the ceiling where they stuck as everyone rushed for cover.

The ceiling blew open, allowing Lee and Tenten to quickly lowered lines to lift everyone up and into their getaway spaceship, the Kyuubi.

* * *

24 hours after the dramatic break in, the damage was still being assessed. 

"Hey, who do you think you are? You can't just walk in here!" Gaito confronted a strange individual in white robes with a purple belt, pale as the moon, in one of the innermost parts of the research center.

The strange man placed his hand onto an identification tablet in the room, his identity and other information popped up on the screen.

"Oh, I'm sorry of course a person with S rank security clearance should have full access to here, Kimimaro-san." Gaito suddenly became very polite, realizing that if The Board had sent such a powerful official here, they had already found out about the break-in and he was probably on the verge of losing his job.

"You are a fool, Gaito. Do you realize what you have done? Hyuuga Neji was one of our best candidates, a prodigy and powerful psychic, one of the finest products of The Konoha Project. You just let his fellow Konoha escapees from the infamous intergalactic mercenary gang, Zodiac, break in, destroy millions in valuable equipment and take him away."

"Well now, that's not entirely my fault. An internal investigation has shown that his cousin, Hinata, used her entire family's vast wealth and connections as well as her own skills from her work in medicine to get the means and power to get him back. How was I to know that such a timid child would go to such trouble just to get back a disturbed individual?" Gaito made a pathetic attempt to excuse himself.

"Yes, wasting such precious resources simply for someone of similar genetic material or emotional connection, such is the power of love. However, that is not your only mistake, though it will be your last."

Gaito tried to explain himself, but Kimimaro cut him off.

"Your first mistake was failing to completely reprogram the specimen. My data shows only 30 percent of his fail-safes are securely in place, the rest can be easily removed with a skilled surgeon's knife, convenient for his cousin. Your third mistake was letting him escape, but you probably don't even realize what your second mistake was."

Kimimaro pushed play on a security monitor, revealing an old tape from a few days ago, of Gaito giving some senior officials a tour of the facility.

"You let people who know some of our most valuable intelligence and secrets stand in the presence of a psychic, just so you could show off and kiss their asses for another raise or promotion. Have you any idea how much our enemies will pay for those secrets? Did you ever read how in ancient Japan, men would throw themselves upon their own swords to avoid the taint of dishonor to their names? They called it seppuku. If you weren't so chickenshit, you would have done it by now."

"Well we all know how essential a sword is to an office, like a cell phone really, but I left mine at home today." Gaito's sarcastic reply didn't amuse Kimimaro one bit.

"That's too bad, otherwise there would be less incompetence in management if they cared more about honor." Kimimaro produced a blade from the skin of his lower forearm.

Gaito responded by pulling out a gun and shooting Kimimaro in the forehead at point blank.

"Who needs honor when you have a handgun?" Gaito asked.

"My bones are stronger then bullets, idiot." Kimimaro picked himself up and plucked the flattened bullet from between his eyes before flicking it away.

Gaito looked ready to shit himself in fright. His last action was to turn around and run in a vain attempt to save his skin before Kimimaro ran him through.

* * *

Neji wandered around aboard the ship, named Kyuubi, using his psychic powers to recall fragments of his previous life. Every new memory brought the pain of realizing what he had lost. He reached into the china cabinet and held a familiar looking tea set. He recognized himself as the memories of its significance flooded his mind, the emotions others had attached to it for him to read like little notes. He recognized himself, giving Hinata the tea set for her birthday, but he didn't remember what store he bought the set from, or what he ate at that party. He looked at old photos of his family and saw himself at his father's funeral, smelled the incense as it burned, but didn't recall the name of the Shinto shrine it took place at. He knew he had done these things, his psychic powers didn't detect any illusions or deceit. But he didn't feel any emotional connections. It might as well have been scenes from a movie he acted in, rather then real life memories. It was a struggle to feel any emotions, but he still could when he tried, Hinata hadn't been able to fix everything they had done to him. 

He walked towards the sleeping quarters, trying to avoid prying into details of others that were too intimate. It was hard, there were strong emotions coming from the rooms. But there was one bedroom he was drawn to. He entered the familiar room and looked at the photograph sitting on the vanity. It was of himself and Shikamaru sitting together in Paris and smiling, his arm curled around Shikamaru in an intimate fashion. He held the photo and strained with his powers to read it. The picture was from their first date, but he had no memory of being on Earth, or how he got to all these places like Japan and Europe. How did they first meet? When was their first kiss? How did he have the means to visit all these places?

"Do you want to know the truth?" Shikamaru asked as he entered the room.

"Tell me everything." Neji answered.

"We call ourselves the Zodiac because we're from the stars and others see us as nothing but animals. We didn't know it for a while, but we are the products of a genetic research experiment called The Konoha Project. We were a space colony, privately established by wealthy businessmen to genetically engineer supreme human beings, create the next stage in human evolution. We were the children of those first 'experiments'."

"What's my relation to Hinata?"

"You are cousins. Your fathers were wealthy Japanese businessmen and twin brothers. They invested in the Konoha project and donated their genetic material, claiming that they wanted to live forever. The truth was they had reproductive problems and wanted children. Your father died when you were four under mysterious circumstances. Rumor has it that another major investor in the project had him assassinated."

"Who?"

"He's known as Orochimaru. He wanted to live forever and saw the Hyuuga family as being the last of many things that had been in his way. They had been fighting each other for financial control of the Project. He thought that nothing could stop him afterwards, he had founded The Project in hopes of finding a way to live forever and make super soldiers for himself. They created a fantasy world for us, cut off from the outside world, we believed we were ninjas in a sort of ancient feudal Japan. Our psychic abilities were explained as being magic, we were trained to be killers. They wanted assassins and puppet rulers, expendables they could manipulate from the shadows to take the blame and enforce the will of the wealthy and elite.

But our colony declared independence from earth. The elder of our colony, Sandaime, was from earth, but he was also a kind and good man. He told us the truth, rallied our families and declared us human beings with rights, not guinea pigs. But he paid dearly for his devotion to us, we were attacked and crushed as rebels and traitors to Earth. We were all forced to flee the colony and were separated from our families. They're either dead, or slaves, or worse. Only Hinata's father is still alive and not in hiding, the two of you got lucky, he knew the right people and passed you both off as his own children, educated you abroad. That was where we met.

The rest of us wandered and struggled to get by, posing as normal people until we crossed paths again. Our genetic alterations made us gifted, stronger, faster, smarter then most. It let us stay hidden for so long and find the skills to survive. We decided to stay together, we had nothing else left. Orochimaru had found our identities at last, we're still his legal property, we're fugitives hiding in the outer bounds of space. It's the only safe place for us now, of course, we're grading on a relative scale.

Naruto's our captain, he's loud and annoying, but he hasn't let us down so far. Shino is our pilot and an expert programmer. Kiba, Tenten and Chouji are our engineers, they maintain the ship, our equipment, our vehicles and our weapons. Ino is our cook, she also cleans the ship, she's a weaponry expert too. Sakura and Hinata are medics, they both attended medical school. I did accounting school, so I keep track of our finances, or at least I try. You and Lee are our best fighters, you two usually lead our raids. "

"How did I end up in that torture chamber?"

Shikamaru shifted uncomfortably and hugged Neji from behind. Neji put his hand on Shikamaru's.

"You wanted to visit your father's shrine on earth 2 months ago, you were always so close to him. We begged you not to go alone, but you said you would be careful, that you wouldn't get caught. Sasuke was the one who gave you away, we don't know what he was promised in return. Naruto and Sakura won't let us say anything bad about him, but no one has mentioned his name since you got caught."

"I was there for a month?"

"The longest month of my life?"

"I lost all track of time. I feel like I've forgotten so much. But I can still remember some glimmers, of my past." Neji's statement hung in the air.

"There's one more thing I want to know." He added.

"What that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Have we ever-?"

Shikamaru led him to the bed and they sat down facing each other and he felt it. This was where they were first intimately involved, where they lay together afterwards, exhausted and wound together. Not knowing what to say, Neji slipped his shirt off and lay next to his lover, gently stroking his face.

* * *

"Naruto, I'm hungry? Can't we get some meat at the next space port? Or even some vegetables? We've been eating ramen for the last 2 weeks." Kiba complained. 

"You said it was either we get the new engine part or we eat good and you voted for the part. Just suck it up and make sure our equipment is okay! After this raid, I'll…uh, I'll buy you guys a whole roasted pig if it'll make you happy." Naruto said hastily.

"Naruto, I finally managed to navigate to the wormhole, we should arrive at the port soon." Shino, their pilot, informed the captain.

"Why did it take so long?" Naruto asked.

"That old software makes flying the ship twice as hard, I had to reconfigure it so it would be compatible with Kiba's halfway repairs to the navigational equipment."

Naruto looked ready to tear his hair out before he a quiet knock came from the door behind him.

"What!" Naruto finally snapped as he flung the door open.

"Oh, hi Hinata-chan, sorry I'm a bit busy right now." The captain promptly blushed and softened at the sight of his girlfriend.

"Naruto, I know we really need the money, but I don't feel right about asking Neji to do this so soon after Sakura and I treated him." Hinata said shyly.

"Come on Hinata, he was always a pro. Even if he doesn't remember everything, he's still a psychic, that's gotta count for something."

"I know, but he's not the same as he used to be."

"Well, you still did a good job of patching him up, I'm not gonna be too reckless after all we went though just to get him back. Besides, we really, really, really need this money. Shino says the software's on the fritz again, Kiba says our engine really needed new parts two days ago, Sakura says we're down to our case of medical supplies and even I'm getting tired of eating ramen. I'll bring him back safe, I promise." Naruto kissed her forehead.

Author's Notes: Anime axiom #34569, Section b) In anime, sword beats gun, always.

More to come later, kiddies. Here's the characters and their respective animals.

Rat Shino,

Ox Lee,

Tiger Naruto,

Rabbit Sakura,

Dragon Neji,

Snake Sasuke,

Horse Hinata,

Ram Shikamaru,

Monkey Tenten,

Rooster Chouji,

Dog Kiba,

Pig Ino.


	2. Payday

The Konoha Project

By: Lone Ronin

Author's Notes: Since this is sci-fi, I've decided to take the names of animal summons and use them as model names for various vehicles. Also, the Hunter-nins are here, they refer to them as Hunters though, and they like to kill and eat people. I mean sure, I can write about people getting eaten alive and meeting other violent deaths around here but sex, we sure can't have any of that! Though both activities require more then one participant and often at least one is not left standing at the end of it all.

Chapter 2: Payday

After picking up what they needed at the spaceport, it was time for the raid. They had targeted a small transport vessel as it left the port. It was the type of vessel that was used to transport cash to distant parts of inhabited space. Using Kyuubi's stealth, they followed it until it had reached a remote artificial planet and started unloading its cargo to the settlers. It was slow due to its heavy armor, and its security system was old and out of date, so it more counted on staying hidden and to be defended by the inhabitants where it landed. They didn't know exactly what was on it, but they hoped there would be something of value in the ship and at the settlement.

Naruto, Shikamaru, Neji, Kiba, Akamaru and Ino made the raid on Kiba's land hovercraft, a Sparrow model they nicknamed Gamakichi. It was large enough to hold them, their weapons, ammunition and a fair amount of loot. The rest of the crew had stayed on Kyuubi to make sure their escape would be fast, Hunters had been reported in the area recently.

They quickly stormed the ship and offloading site, brandishing their weapons and forcing everyone to lay face down. Shikamaru walked between the groups of hostages, making sure none of them moved before Neji suddenly pounced and held a dagger to someone's throat with one hand as he held out his other.

"Gun." He instructed.

The man handed over an old pistol.

"Other gun." Neji then said.

The man hesitated, wondering how Neji had known about it when he hadn't reached for the other gun. Neji flicked his wrist and nicked the man's neck to hurry him into giving it up.

"All right, food and new ship parts!" Kiba and Naruto cheered as they started loading up as many bags as they could onto Gamakichi.

"Bad news, boys, we'll be lucky if this covers the fuel." Ino said as she actually thought to open the bags and look inside.

"What?" Kiba asked.

"This stuff is practically worthless, look!"

Sure enough, the bags were full five and one dollar American currency. With the way their economy had been mismanaged and destroyed by war and incompetence at the start of the 21st century and never fully recovered, it wouldn't have even helped that much had they been higher value notes.

"After all that planning and everything else went right? How can we have such lousy luck?" Naruto cried out.

Frustrated at the thought that they weren't going to get anything but pocket change for all their efforts, a small gleam caught Kiba's eye and he started working a ring off a nearby woman's finger.

"That's my wedding ring!" the woman cried as she started fighting to keep it.

Kiba growled and bared his fangs and the woman backed down in fear, displaying the result of the genetic alterations of his parents.

"Leave it Kiba." Said Naruto.

"But it's gold!" Kiba whined.

"I said leave it!" Naruto growled and showed his own fangs while his eyes and face markings gleamed like a fox.

Kiba stopped. He knew Naruto had never gotten over being treated as an illegitimate child, so taking a wedding right affected him in a personal way. Sometimes their captain was too soft hearted for his own good.

"Was probably gold plated anyways." He muttered to himself as he returned the ring.

Neji's head suddenly turned like a prey that had seen a predator stalking it from the brush, looking visibly shaken.

"We have to get out of here, the Hunters are coming." He said.

"Wow, he picked it up before Akamaru." Kiba was impressed as Akamaru growled and confirmed Neji's observation.

"Never mind that, grab what you can and let's go!" said Ino.

"If I were you, I'd lock myself in the safe underground." Naruto advised the people they had robbed before leading his crew outside.

They made it to their getaway vehicle outside just in time as a horde of frightening figures in their infamous white masks swarmed over the town. Their rugged primer patched Oni model vehicles, decorated with the remains of former slaughters, left no doubt that it was the Hunters.

The Hunters were rumored to have come from a better version of The Konoha Project. But they were so vicious that many isolated space settlements believed them to be the reincarnation of unfortunate people who had been tossed into space without helmets or suits by space pirates and who now took their torment out on the living.

Not only were they stronger, faster and more intelligent then normal humans, but unlike the people of Konoha, they would kill and maim without conscience before eating their victims. Anything they couldn't loot or pillage from their attacks was slaughtered or torched, they never took prisoners. Most of the Hunter horde had decided the town was full of easy meat and occupied themselves with killing the locals, but one small group decided Naruto's gang was worth going after.

"They're shooting at Gamakichi's engine!" Shikamaru did his best to protect the most important part of their escape vehicle.

"They want us alive, so they can torture us before they feast on our bodies." Neji answered, hearing the bloodlust of the Hunters in his mind sent his fight or flight mechanisms into full alert.

"Go faster, go faster, what part of go faster do you not understand, Kiba?" Ino was on the verge of screaming as a group of five Hunters on their hoovercraft slowly caught up.

"We're too heavy to go faster with the money, I just used our last nitro. Give them a kiss from Ami." Said Kiba, flying the Sparrow as fast as he could while the rest of them took shots at the Hunters.

"I wish you'd stop naming your guns." Ino muttered to herself as she managed to pick off a Hunter with Kiba's favorite semiautomatic.

"Kiba, we're ready to take up Gamakichi with a Barn Swallow maneuver." Shino's voice came from Kiba's wrist communicator.

"We can't do that, our landing gear's been damaged." Kiba said as a warning popped up on the display.

"And they just clipped our wing flap!" he added as the Sparrow took another hit.

"Then go into safety mode, we'll have to get you in a Shuttlecock Manuver."

"But that will slow us down!" Naruto cut in as he changed another round on his gun.

"Gamakichi's taken a lot of damage, we can either land quickly or alive." Said Kiba as he started entering the instructions for the ship to do a Shuttlecock landing.

"Can't you do both?" Naruto asked.

"Ask me after I've fixed Gamakichi." Kiba replied.

In Barnswallow Mode, Gamakichi was taken up by going underneath the Kyuubi and entering the docking area in a dangerous but fast move, it had saved them on more then one occasion.

But it was into such a state of damage and disrepair, they had no choice but to land in Shuttlecock Mode. This was where Gamakichi changed its shape to resemble a badminton shuttlecock, slowing its descent and ensuring Gamakichi would land upright, even without any of its power or landing gear working.

But it took a while to change the ship to the right shape and slowed its descent down a lot, not a good proposition with murderous Hunters after you.

Kiba maneuvered the Gamakichi above the Kyuubi as Shino opened the top hatch. As they slowed down, three Hunters pulled up beside them and tried to get into the landing area with them. Hinata and Sakura came rushing with their first aid kits as Gamakichi landed. Naruto and Ino managed to shoot a Hunter before it got into the ship, but the other two managed to land their Oni on the outside of Kyuubi and crawled in before Shino could shut the hangar door.

Hinata screamed as a Hunter tackled Kiba. They both snarled and brawled like wild animals before Kiba howled in pain as the Hunter managed to sink a knife in his shoulder. Something seemed to snap in Neji as the other Hunter went after him.

The average Hunter had the strength of four normal humans. Before being captured, even Neji would have had trouble taking on just one, and he was one of the stronger members of their inner circle. Everyone watched, amazed as Neji tossed the Hunter that was attacking him at the one on top of Kiba, then grabbed his own knife and cut through both Hunters like they were butter.

By the time he stopped, he was covered in blood and both Hunters were very, very dead.

* * *

After repairing Gamakichi using parts from the Hunter's Oni and cleaning up the huge mess in the hangar, Shino flew Kyuubi into the safety of outer space. The crew sat down in the dining area of Kyuubi and took account of what they had stolen. At first it seemed like a total loss, nothing but sacks full of cheap dollar bills, until Shikamaru produced a small pouch from his pocket and opened it. 

Everyone stared, amazed at how the gems glittered. Rubies, diamonds, pearls, jewels they didn't know the names of, even an emerald and a sapphire came spilling out.

"How?" Naruto asked.

"While you, Ino and Kiba were busy grabbing those worthless notes in the safe, I noticed a loose brick in the wall and pulled it out. My mother used to hide some of her best jewelry that way." He answered.

"This'll cover everything! The engine parts, fuel, food, medical supplies, software-" Naruto said excitedly as reached his hand out for the diamonds, when Ino suddenly brought her hand in the way.

"Wait!" She blurted out.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Could I have the sapphire?" she asked.

"Ino, this sapphire isn't of gem quality, its badly damaged and not worth anything. Maybe it would be good for use in circuitry, that would be it." Shikamaru said as he inspected the sapphire more closely.

"But it looks pretty and, I always wanted a real sapphire." She insisted stubbornly.

Shikamaru stopped and looked at her for a moment. He remembered how he and Chouji had found her, wearing old ragged clothes because she couldn't afford new ones, scraping to get by working at an old dingy flower shop in New York's Queens area on Earth, where her parents had spent the last of their money to smuggle her to before Konoha fell. She didn't hesitate to join them and leave Earth on Kyuubi, she had once said 'I was alone for so long, I didn't have more then ten dollars to my name'. Even though their own psychic abilities were not as strong some of their other crew members, they were shocked by how depressed and sorrowful she felt.

She was almost back to her old self now, alluring, bossy, proud and confident like she had been in the old days on Konoha. But the image of seeing Ino, walking downtown in her faded clothing as New York's upper crust would walk by in their finest designer labels and expensive jewelry moved something in him.

Naruto looked at Tenten, Sakura and Hinata, he wasn't too sure if they would be jealous, but they nodded in understanding. Shikamaru quietly slid the cache towards her and let Ino take out the sapphire.

* * *

Shikamaru woke up to hear Neji speaking calmly in the darkness, even though there was no one but the two of them in their private quarters. It was the third time it had happened that week. Shikamaru would go to sleep and have the same dream. He was with all his friends in a beautiful place that reminded him of a field in the English countryside. Then before he woke up, a group of people he didn't recognize came and started speaking to him and Neji. He would wake up to hear Neji still speaking even when he was sure he wasn't dreaming any more. 

"Are you talking to them again?" Shikamaru asked.

He wasn't completely sure if it was just another side effect from Neji's fail-safes, or if something really was trying to contact them, but he was starting to think it was the latter.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know." Neji replied.

"Are they friendly? Do they want to hurt us? Where are they contacting you from?"

"They're trying to talk to you too, but they say you can't hear them when you're not dreaming. They don't seem hostile, but who can you trust these days?"

* * *

After a few days in space of flying to the general area that Jiraiya liked to hang around, it became apparent that something was terribly wrong with Neji, as his behavior went from calm one moment to erratic the next. Hinata and Sakura were not completely sure what was wrong but he seemed to be deeply traumatized from what had been done to him in that lab. Sometimes, he had tremors and nightmares, his sleep was irregular, the slightest event could make him panic and a few times Tenten and Lee almost got seriously hurt. 

Other times he was perfectly fine, it was like Jekyll and Hyde.

The last straw came when Sakura and Hinata tried to help him by attempting to surgically remove another fail-safe. They had not been sure if they could safely remove all of them, but finally decided it was worth the risk. Sakura used some of her nursing training to keep Neji calm and everything seemed fine, but when Hinata approached with the smallest needle they had, he flipped.

"Keep that thing away from me!" he shouted before knocking Sakura flat and hurling a nearby scalpel at Hinata.

It took Tenten, Shikamaru, Shino, Ino and Lee to hold Neji down while Naruto rushed to Hinata's side.

"I'm okay." Hinata whispered, unhurt but badly shaken.

The scalpel had just missed her face.

Neji finally calmed down and agreed to let them tie his hands behind his back, they just couldn't trust him at this point. Naruto got into a fierce debate with Shikamaru over what to do. Shino had finally located Jiraiya and sent him a message, but there was still the possibility that even he wouldn't be able to help them.

Even though he refused to abandon anyone, Naruto had to consider the safety of everyone else on board. He even suggested the unthinkable; kicking Neji off the ship, Shikamaru didn't even want to consider that.

"Two inches to the left and it would have hit her. That could have been any one of us and next time he might not miss, he can't stay here!" Naruto said angrily.

"You didn't even suggest that when Sasuke started acting strangely, but unlike him, Neji didn't betray us!" Shikamaru spat out.

Ino gasped, it was the first time since he had abandoned them that anyone had mentioned Sasuke. Enraged that he'd even dared to play that card, Naruto punched Shikmaru so hard his lower lip split and bled as he hit the ground.

"Hey, calm down!" Tenten said as she held Naruto back from doing any more.

"Let's just go to Jiraiya and see what he can do, then worry about what to do if it turns out he can't help us if that actually happens." Tenten managed to diffuse the situation.

"Naruto, I've managed to call you-know-who. We're in range to talk in real-time." Shino said calmly.

Everyone gathered around the computer as Shino completed the call.

"Ah, Naruto, eleven this time instead of ten, I see your luck is up!" Jiraiya's face popped up on the computer screen.

"You're looking pretty good yourself, Perverted Hermit. We were wondering if you wanted to do some business." Said Naruto.

"What did you have in mind? Want a movie subscription?" he asked.

"Maybe another time. We were wondering if you wanted to buy some stuff off us, and maybe you might want to take a look at Neji, he hasn't been feeling well."

"I'm sure I could do something, in exchange for a little bit of maintenance on Narutina." Jiraiya replied.

"That's no problem, how's she doing?" Naruto asked.

"We're doing quite well, we even got married. I'm still so sad none of you could make it to the wedding, but I know you had more important matters to deal with and she's the forgiving sort. I'll send you my coordinates." The old pervert said with a grin.

The screen went blank.

"He's uploading his 'wedding pictures' to us." Shino said as a picture of Jiraiya in a formal tux, ginning and winking at the camera with his fancy female robot appeared on screen. She was dressed in a wedding gown complete with a veil and revealing top that no real woman in her right mind would ever wear.

"He looks like he's having so much fun, I want one of those fembots." Said Kiba.

"That's kind of creepy." Ino said with a sweatdrop.

"At least it keeps him away from real girls." Said Chouji.

"He'd just better not check me out like last time, or I'll hurt him even worse then before." Said Tenten.

"I remember Jiraiya and the multimillion dollar internet porn empire he runs while covering his electronic tracks in space, but I don't remember that robot who looks like a female pinup of Naruto." Neji whispered to Shikamaru.

"I'm not surprised, we custom made it for him while you were captured, in exchange for help in getting you back." Shikamaru answered as he nursed his lip.

"Do you really think he can fix the rest of my fail-safes?" Neji asked.

"Considering we're fugitives, and he knows electronics, I'd say he's probably our best option to get help from first."

Author's Notes: I just had to make Jiraiya a porno king with a female robot of Naruto's 'Sexy no Jutsu' couldn't resist.


	3. Konoha's Last Stand

The Konoha Project

By: Lone Ronin

Author's Notes: I know, I took a long time. Look, it get's done when it's done, okay? I was working on writing on and off, but now I've finished school and I'm looking for work, so in the meantime, I'm able to write. Consider this a little Christmas present for now. And I'll have another chapter Troublesome Fate out soon, okay?

As this is AU, I get artistic license. In this story, Konoha fell from an attack by Orochimaru at the chuunin exams, but before the big mission to get Sasuke back. So as a result, everyone lives a life on the run and this chapter quickly gives some background on how everyone met up and shows what happens when Sasuke goes to Orochimaru. I know it's been a long time since I wrote a new chapter for any of my stories since I've been busy with classes, but now I've graduated and have lots of free time until I land a real job so to make it up to all of you, there is a NejiShika lemon in this chapter that I've posted at y!gallery. Just look for my username at the site.

Also, thanks for all the feedback. Just so we're all on the same page, I'm not copying Serenity, I'm just borrowing elements of it that happen to appeal to me, mainly the aspect that some of the countries on earth are dictatorships or in some other state of turmoil, there are no aliens and there's lots of colonies and settled planets within space. The ending will also be very different as well.

Chapter 3: Konoha's Last Stand

"Hinata, what's wrong? You feel so unhappy." Sleeping together in their own quarters, Naruto could tell that Hinata radiated worry, fear and sadness.

It was sort of like telepathy, but instead of words, it was emotions that they sent between each other. Some of them had better range then others, and it was easier to feel the emotions of those whom they liked better, but when they were near each other, they could feel each other's thoughts for better or worse.

"What's going to happen now? We got Neji back, where will we go? What are we going to do?" she asked, frowning with worry.

"Don't worry, Hinata, I'll think of something." Naruto gently kissed her forehead.

But as Hinata fell asleep on his chest, the only thing he could think about was how long it had taken him to find them all. And Hinata did have a good question.

What were they going to do now?

It had been several years, but he could still remember the fall of Konoha, since learning their entire lives had been an illusion.

* * *

It had been almost five years ago, but he could still recall the last stand of Konoha as Orochimaru's men overran the village, parading the Hokage's body in triumph. Most of the citizens of Konoha had already evacuated with their families, including much of the rookie nine. For Naturo and Sasuke, who had no living relatives who cared if they stayed or left, it fell to Iruka and Kakashi to try and convince them to leave with the others, but they refused, figuring they had nothing to lose.

He remembered that part well, but his memory became fuzzy after he and Sasuke were grabbed and held by Iruka as they were hypnotized Kakashi's Sharingan and fell asleep. They woke up sometime later and came out of the strange container that Iruka had presumably placed them into, made with a clear cover that appeared to be glass but the entire thing was harder then steel, and found themselves in a world that they knew nothing about.

An old battered road sign said 'New Orleans', but there was nothing new at all about anything in the city.

Feeling completely bewildered, Naruto suddenly felt something odd in his pocket. He pulled out what looked like a strange case and gently opened it up. To his surprise, a rather scratchy recording of Iruka's voice came out of it.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm so sorry that you had to find out the truth this way, but your, our world was not real. Everything you know, or think you know, was really a fabrication by the people of this world. I never visited it, although my parents were from it. Sandaime was not really a ninja, but a brilliant university professor who oversaw the entire thing. From what I understand, it was a project to understand and create better people.

I wish I had more time to explain everything to you, but I can't. I have given both you and Sasuke these special devices to help you find everything, they call them computers. Think of them as giant scroll libraries in the palm of your hand, you can look up anything you can imagine on them, use them to learn about this world. They are also your identification, they contain assumed names you can use to hide and build new lives. I've given them to the others, but where they've gone to, I have no idea.

I don't have much time left, so I will leave you both with an important warning; Orochimaru is still after all of you. He is also not really a ninja, although he was Sandaime's student. He only saw Konoha as a way to make money and wanted to use us for some kind of horrible experiments. He has a lot of power in this world, and he will probably be looking for you, so watch out." The recording ended with static.

That the machine they had been placed into was called a spaceship and that they were now on a planet called Earth, were the first things they learned. According to the encyclopedia, they were in what had been a major city in a country that had once been a flourishing democracy. But the city had fallen into a general state of disrepair, reverting back to swampland and largely abandoned after a hurricane had wiped out most of the buildings. Seeing it as a sign of the apocalypse, religious fundamentalists had taken up arms and stormed the capital some distance away, gunning down all of the elected government, suspending civil rights and setting up their own government according to a strict interpretation of their own text. No longer a bastion of liberty and freedom, there was now a huge divide between rich and poor, with secret police watching for activity and detaining others secretly and without reason.

Not knowing what else to do, they wandered into the strange landscape, a city made of paving, bricks and wrought iron with swampy bayous off in the distance, nothing like their village of buildings covered in plaster with thatched roofs and surrounded by the mountains and forest.

* * *

Five years later…

Naruto and Sasuke hurried to the old aircraft hangar where they had managed to get jobs as salvagers, tearing apart old machines and spaceships to reuse the valuable metal. As usual, they had slept in late because they had stayed up the night before, secretly practicing their ninjutsu skills under the cover of night to keep a low profile.

But their boss and the owner, a tough but kind old man with a Southern drawl who they knew as Nathan didn't mind. Over time, he had come to accept some of their strange quirks since they seemed so well mannered and quickly picked up what they needed to know, becoming his most faithful employees. Today he had promised to show them something special for all their hard work.

"You two have been working for me for the past four years now?" Nathan asked.

"Four years, three months, and twenty seven days." Sasuke replied.

"Right, I know I can trust the both of ya, so I'd like to show you boys this little ship of mine."

He led them to a hangar that was off limits to most others, and they came face-to-face with the most beautiful spaceship they had ever seen.

The ship caught Naruto's eye, it was huge and sleek, with enough space and supplies for thirty people and the power to go to the deepest reaches of the Universe.

"You like her, don't you? Well, my days of flying are behind me, but I've been taking care of that ship all my life."

"I'd give anything for a ship like this." Naruto's eyes lit up.

"I thought you'd like it, that why I'm givin' it to you." Nathan said.

"For real?" Naruto couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yep, here's the manual, computer codes and blueprints."

"Why are you just giving it to us?" Sasuke asked.

"The government found out about my ship and they're coming to take it in two weeks, citizens aren't allowed to have aircraft that can go into space, they're afraid they might try to run off. I was going to ask you boys to destroy her rather then see her confiscated by those bastards, but if I can give her away to someone who'll take good care of her, that'd make me happy." Nathan explained.

"Sasuke, this is great! We can go find the others and rebuild Konoha…"

Sasuke motioned for Naruto to shut up, even though he knew Nathan wouldn't say anything to anyone. Particularly the government, who he hated.

"But what about you? What are you going to do?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry about me. I've got something to tell you two. The doctor says I ain't got much time left, I'm going to die soon. So I've simply decided to live out my days here. But I can't go without makin' sure that at least all my workers have been taken care of. I know you two are young and wanna wander, so I figured you'd both appreciate my ship the most. Go and find that Kon-o-ha, wherever that is." The boss replied.

"You could come with us." Naruto offered.

"Sorry, I'm too old for that kind of thing. I've got no place else to go, everything I need is right here in New Orleans. I don't know if this is a good time to tell you, but you two can't stay here much longer because I'm gonna die, then everything I own is going to be taken by the state. It would probably be best for you both to start packing before they come." Nathan answered.

Excited to see inside, Naruto lowered the bay doors to the ship and prepared to go in.

"Wait, what are ya doin'?" Nathan asked.

"Um, getting on?" said Naruto.

"Don't you know you gotta give your ship a name? It's bad luck if you don't name her."

* * *

As Naruto reflected on his recent past, Hinata lay on his chest as their breathing fell into unison and she fell into her own dreaming while Kyuubi drifted in space.

* * *

Hinata poked her index fingers together nervously as she faced her interrogation, completely forgetting the backbone she had managed to grow in the past five years since leaving Konoha and enrolling in medical school.

Tired of the cheap romance novels and propaganda pieces always being churned out about the army and police fighting terrorists, Hinata and Sakura got a certain excitement in between medical school classes about getting away with reading books that were not allowed. They had even managed to get some of the really rare finds such as '1984', 'Brave New World' and 'The Handmaid's Tale'. It was a dark joke among the book runners to refer to Orwell and Atwood as 'The Prophets'. But the worried look on Hinata's face was from something far worse then getting caught for 'trafficking obscene material', as it was called.

Sometime into the new semester, Hinata had shown Sakura Neji's handwritten letters, the only contact she had been allowed when he went off to a 'special boarding school' in Europe for training and she wasn't given any other details. She recognized his tidy, flowing handwriting, but his messages were full of spelling mistakes, with dates, names and facts completely wrong. The new letters had also been written with cheap ballpoint pen on lined notebook paper, but she knew he preferred to use fancy paper with a traditional brush and India ink.

Using the return address on the envelope, she had tried to take a plane during her spring break and visit the sector where the boarding school supposedly was.

Now she had just been detained and was being questioned by a Safety Officer about why she was in the area. The irony wasn't lost on her that she didn't feel particularly safe at that moment.

"Miss Hinata, don't you realize what a serious offence it is to leave your documented parameters without formally notifying the Offices of Homeland Safety in North America?" the Officer asked.

"I'm sorry, I just wanted to visit my cousin." She replied nervously.

"Hyuuga Neji?" the Officer quickly checked her story on his computer.

"Yes, I thought I had taken care of all my paperwork, it must have slipped my mind." She tried to excuse herself.

"Really? A person with a Gifted Intelligence standing who is at the top of her class in Medical School and on the verge of graduating as a surgeon, forgetting to file a few simple papers and jeopardizing all that? I find it odd that someone of such an excellent record could be so absentminded. In fact, I've got quite a list of odd activities that you've been engaging in for the last few weeks, withdrawals of large sums, purchases of expensive jewelry and clothing, mailing items to Europe, care to explain it?" The Officer looked up her personal information with the click of a mouse on his computer.

Hinata was so surprised and scared she wasn't sure what to say. She thought she had covered all her tracks, but there was a huge itemized list of everyone she had talked to, called, what she had bought, where she had been for about the last few weeks.

Thankfully, before she could answer, a higher ranking Safety Officer came in and whispered something in her interrogator's ear. Without another word she was led out of the room to where her father waited, furious with the Officers.

"You all knew she was a Hyuuga, why wasn't I called about this?" he demanded to know.

"She's legally an adult and it's not necessary to contact an attorney under the Security Act. Hinata was simply being questioned about her unusual activity records, she hasn't been charged with anything."

"Can you at least tell me where Neji is?" Hinata said as she was ushered out the door.

"Neji is undergoing extensive special training, he has been screened as an excellent candidate to enhance our safety at an undisclosed location, and I'm afraid he cannot speak directly with you out of security concerns." The higher ranking Officer stated coldly.

There was nothing more they would say. For the first few minutes of the car ride, Hinata and Hiashi were completely silent.

"Father, they've done something to Neji, I just know it." Hinata finally said.

"And you think I don't? Have you any idea what's at stake if you attempt to help Neji?" Hiashi replied.

Her father hesitated before he continued.

"You have to be more careful if you want to find Neji, the people in charge of our lives in this world are quite powerful. You will have to avoid entering areas with surveillance, avoid using electronic devices and stay out in space so you won't be followed, use only money to buy things. It will mean leaving the safety of the Hyuuga estate and I will not be able to protect you." He warned her.

The thought of leaving home and not knowing if she could ever return frightened Hinata. But she was even more frightened of being taken away to some place and held against her will, the way she suspected they were treating her cousin now. She still wanted to find Neji and was willing to risk it all, but the task seemed so daunting, could she do it?

"But you won't be alone, someone has volunteered to help you." Hiashi drove to a rural area in a field.

Hinata was surprised to find Sakura waiting for her next to a huge spaceship and someone she had longed to see for the past few years.

"Hi Hinata! We're going to find all the others and then we're going out into space with this great ship, I named it Kyuubi. We were in North America, but this spaceship went across the ocean in a flash, isn't that great? Sakura was telling me all about how you were both doing in medical school…" Naruto trailed off in surprise as Hinata threw her arms around him and cried.

* * *

Outside Naruto and Hinata's doors, hearing rustling in the kitchen, Shino set the ship on autopilot and found Kiba at the dining area, sharing a granola bar with Akamaru.

"I thought you were cutting back on your midnight snacks." Shino commented.

"I can't help it, I hate being in space." Kiba replied.

Akamaru whined a bit in agreement.

"Yeah, I miss Earth too." Kiba said as he gave Akamaru the last piece.

"It's a shame we weren't able to get our diplomas either." Kiba added after a moment of thought.

At a technical college in another part of the U.S. that he and Shino had enrolled in, Kiba had drowned his sense of loss and homesickness in a wild lifestyle. Although he tried to pay attention in his mechanical engineering classes, it was way more fun to impress the girls in motorbike races and skateboarding competitions. After a long day of winning bets at motorbike track and stroking his ego with the adoring fangirls, Akamaru walked by Kiba's side as he went to the computer store where Shino worked. As usual, he was dealing with another asshole customer.

"I'm telling you, my computer is running slow because of a manufacturing defect, I shouldn't have to pay for it since it's covered by the warranty." The jerk complained.

The guy continued complaining and bitching, with all the customers behind him glaring, clearly hoping that Shino would kick his ass or call security.

"Actually, according to my diagnostics, it's far more likely that the porn dialers from all these websites you visited are the real problem. Let's see here, hotasians. Shino read off some of the address in the computer's history as calmly as though he were looking in a cookbook.

"Hey, Biker Babes with Whips and Chains, I love that site! Did you see their newest movie yet?" Kiba added as the customer went beet red and ran out the door with everyone laughing at him.

After Shino's shift, they began the walk back to the apartment they shared. They had to constantly be on guard, knowing that the names they had used to enroll into the college had not been their real names and they had seen the police simply come into the classroom and arrest students without any explanation more then once. Everything they did was under constant watch, from what they bought, to where they went and who the spoke to. But their ninja training allowed them to navigate their new world with little chance of detection. Although to passersby, they didn't seem to be doing much of anything, Shino's insects were giving him important information they had gathered for him, flying far and wide while he had been working.

"They found Naruto and Sasuke." Shino told him.

"Where?" Kiba asked.

"About a day's drive from here. The moment they saw my insects they said they would come for us as soon as possible."

"Do you think that maybe some of the others survived?" Kiba asked.

They had managed to locate Sakura and Hinata, who were studying at a nearby medical school, but up until that moment, they had no way of knowing if anyone else had escaped the fall of Konoha. But Shino was one step ahead of him.

"They've also managed to find Lee and Tenten. My insects also tell me Naruto and Sasuke have managed to get a hold of some very good electronic equipment, including a space vehicle, though they don't seem very adept at using them. However, I think with our current knowledge, we may be able to find more Konoha survivors."

"Guess our luck is finally up. When are we going?" Kiba asked.

"We should leave right away, Sakura sent me a message too. They tried to detain her and Hinata, they're with Naruto and Sasuke right now." Said Shino.

"Right now? But all our stuff is at the apartment and we're two weeks from graduating." Kiba complained.

"True, but something tells me those men over there are not here to give us our degrees early." Shino replied as they spotted a pair of policemen approaching them.

It was a wild run through the streets as they ran to the building rooftop where Naruto had landed the ship. With no more need to hide their ninjutsu abilities, the policemen watched in amazement as Akamaru, Kiba and Shino jumped from the street up between two nearby buildings to reach the rooftops before the ship took off.

* * *

As Kiba reflected on the good old days with Akamaru, Sakura sat on the bed in her room, looking at an old photograph of herself with her team and Kakashi, remembering the strange bruise that had appeared on Sasuke's neck after Orochimaru had bitten him during the exams. The picture symbolized so much to her; her past, their ignorance to the truth, her childish crush of Sasuke. She knew the Sasuke had made his choice, but a part of her still blamed herself for Neji's pain, as well as the current rift between Shikamaru and Naruto.

'I wish I had said something sooner.' Sakura sadly reflected on the picture, knowing the reason for Sasuke's betrayal.

* * *

It had been late one night when Sasuke had pushed past her as she walked down the darkened hallway of Kyuubi. She sensed a mixture of anger, sadness and sorrow from him that she had never felt before.

"Sasuke, are you all right?" she asked, trying to hide her fear.

"Get out of my way." He answered coldly, not even looking up at her or slowing down.

Wondering what he had seen that would make him behave that way, she entered the doors he had left, which led to Kyuubi's central area, a series of stacked floors with balcony rails overlooking an atrium at the bottom. The atrium was used as main living space, with couches, tables and chairs for relaxing on. Sakura looked over the rail to see Naruto and Hinata sitting on one of the couches where they were kissing quite passionately. It was obviously far more then friendly too, as Hinata clung to him tightly and wasn't shy at all about letting Naruto put his hands on her chest.

"He must have become jealous of Naruto for winning over Hinata." Sakura quietly whispered to herself.

"No, he was jealous of Hinata, for winning over Naruto." Tenten replied from the shadows.

Sakura turned to see her quietly sharpening some ninja equipment as she leaned back against a nearby wall.

"Haven't you ever seen the way he looks at Naruto when no one is looking? Neji and I have seen it, no one else knows, except for Sasuke himself. He never reacted that way when Hinata kissed him, but when he kissed her…" Tenten trailed off.

'Not only is Naruto with someone else right now, but what you want will never be. I'm sorry Sasuke, but this is how it is.' Sakura thought to herself sadly.

* * *

She watched for a moment or two before leaving Naruto and Hinata together, unaware that the final tie had been broken and the last reason Sasuke had for staying with them was gone.

Shikamaru knew Sakura still felt bad for not keeping a better eye on Sasuke even though he had told her that he didn't blame her at all for what he had done. But for now it didn't matter.

He had Neji back and that was all that mattered. Shikamaru moaned softly as he let Neji push his tongue into his mouth. Their shirts were scattered on the floor, but before they could remove the rest, Neji stopped, shaking with fear. He suddenly pushed Shikamaru off and ran to the washroom.

Neji grabbed the sink and tried to hold back the dry heaves while his heart raced and his muscles went like water. He looked up in the mirror above the sink, but it wasn't his own reflection that looked back. It was a snake, a creature with cold, dead eyes, like Orochimaru's. He was paralyzed, unable to move.

"Neji, you're a disgrace, a worthless failure." The creature sneered at him.

'It's not real, I'm just hallucinating again.' Neji tried to tell himself.

But in a way it was real. It was his worst nightmare, all his repressed fears, coming to the surface. He wanted to run, but instead he just sank to his knees as the bathroom seemed to melt from his vision.

"You can't run, I will catch you, as well as the others. You're just my prey, Neji…"

"Neji, Neji!" Shikamaru's shouting brought him back to reality.

He suddenly became aware of the bathroom again where he was on his knees in front of the sink as Shikamaru embraced him from behind, hugging him as though letting go would mean losing the soul of someone he loved.

Shikamaru led him back to the bed where they sat for a while as Neji allowed him to rub his back and shoulders.

"You can leave me, if you want." Neji finally said as he calmed down.

"What?" Shikamaru asked in surprise.

"You don't have to stay with me. Do you still want to be in a relationship with a basket case, knowing I might go crazy?" Neji asked him.

He hated having panic attacks. They came without warning. One moment he was fine, the next moment it was all he could to keep from screaming in fear.

"You're not going crazy, it's probably just the failsafes, or maybe those drugs they gave you at the lab are still in your system-" Shikamaru tried to reassure him.

"We don't know that for sure, I'm just so worried I might hurt you." He said quietly as Shikamaru lay on his chest, rubbing circles on his shoulders and chest to calm him.

Their breathing falling in sync as Neji's mind drifted back to when they had first met on Earth.

* * *

Neji wandered through the streets of the strange European city he had hitchhiked to. It had taken the full extent of his newfound abilities, but he was sure that someone he knew was in this area. Sure enough, he came across Shikamaru, watching the clouds as he lay on his back in a field of a college campus, looking at the clouds. They hadn't known each other well at the time, but being one of the few people from Konoha whom he had seen since its fall, Neji decided to get to know him better.

The two of them lay on their backs in the field and watched the sky as they talked about their current situations. He learned that Shikamaru and Chouji were sharing an apartment as they both worked and attended college, trying to keep a low profile. Shikamaru had decided to become an accountant and worked part time at a bank, while Chouji had decided to become an engineer, paying his way as a short-order cook at a greasy spoon.

"Not that there's anything wrong with being an accountant or working at the bank, but considering how things went at the chuunin exams, I sort of thought that you could have done better." Neji commented.

"My dad said I should try and keep a low profile and try not to stand out. What about you?" Shikmaru asked.

"This might sound strange, but I ran away from the college I was attending two days ago and I really don't have anything but the clothes I'm wearing and I have no idea what I'm going to do." Neji replied.

"Why did you do that? Was it a lousy college?" Shikamaru asked.

"Actually, the only thing I really didn't like about it was that they had guards everywhere and they wouldn't let me leave. It seemed to be a normal school, but I could see all this strange monitoring equipment behind the walls. Then they started asking me to perform all these strange tests and students I knew were disappearing, so I wrote to Hinata and had her mail me clothes and boxes of candy with money and jewelry hidden inside so I could bribe the guards." He answered.

"And they just let you walk out?" Shikamaru asked in surprise.

"They don't get paid that well." Neji replied.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Shikamaru asked.

"Much better." Neji replied as he returned Shikamaru's affection, kissing him gently.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen you when you warned me about going back to Earth." He added.

* * *

It had been a huge risk, but for Neji it was worth it. Seeing his father's grave and knowing he had been laid to rest properly after all these years gave him some measure of peace, at least until he saw the police. Knowing they had been looking for him the moment he saw them, it had been a wild chase from the shrine through the streets of Tokyo.

At first he had thought he could get away easily, but his attempts to use Jyuuken had ended in some nasty electric shocks. It seemed the officers sent to arrest him had equipped their clothing with electrical charges so he couldn't touch them.

It had been a confusing two hours during which tasered until he was stunned and disoriented, before being thrown into a holding cell, stripped of his ninja equipment and unable to touch the electrified bars or walls. For a while he lay there, wondering how they had known how to trap him, but it all became clear to him how they had known about his abilities when he saw the Orochimaru with the traitor.

The real Orochimaru was slightly different from what Neji had expected. Not actually a ninja with deadly skills, but rather a frail, withered old businessman surrounded by attendants. But the uncontrolled ambition and cunning was still there.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Neji-kun, almost fourteen years actually. It's unfortunate for you that daddy isn't here to protect you this time. But I'm glad to know my investment in The Konoha Project paid off." Orochimaru greeted him.

"What did they promise you?" Neji angrily snarled at Sasuke as he was handcuffed behind his back.

"I'm tired of running like a hunted animal. There is still one goal I have, even in this new world, I can still accomplish it if I help Orochimaru." Sasuke stated coldly as he watched the police restrain Neji.

"What about the others? Naruto, he trusted you, doesn't that mean anything to you?" Neji screamed out in fury.

"No. At least not anymore." he answered.

Deciding he wanted to go down with defiance, Neji spit. Sasuke didn't flinch as it caught him right on his shirt. Nor did he react when Neji was electrocuted into submission with tasers.

* * *

"I think we should talk to Sakura tomorrow." Neji said quietly as Shikamaru ran his fingers through his hair.

"She feels a lot of guilt, but I don't blame her for anything." He continued.

"I don't either. It's okay, we're back together now…" Shikamaru trailed off as their lips met, kissing deeply…

* * *

This is where the lemon that I can't put here happens, but don't worry, you can catch it at my y!gallery account when I post it up. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

* * *

Neji collapsed on top of his lover, breathing heavily as they laced their fingers together before sleep took them both.

It was unlike any dream Shikamaru had ever experienced. It wasn't an abstract, disconnected feeling, the way most dreams were. It felt more like he was in an altered state of consciousness, a different type of awake, he was very aware of what was going on around him.

Shikamaru looked around in amazement. It looked exactly like Konoha. He looked down and realized he was wearing the clothes he used to wear in Konoha too, complete with his equipment. He looked straight ahead and faced Neji, who was dressed in his old outfit too.

"What did you want to show me?" Shikamaru asked.

Neji pointed behind him.

Seeing a strange figure in a green robe and a Hunter's mask, Shikamaru quickly crouched in a defensive position and instinctively reached for his ninja equipment.

"It's okay, he won't hurt you. I met him this way in the lab, I've been talking to him ever since." Neji reassured him.

Realizing that he wasn't trying to kill and eat them on sight, Shikamaru took his time and assessed the stranger. It seemed to be about their age and male, despite the long flowing hair and soft voice. Part of him wondered if he represented some other part of Neji's personality or subconscious.

"Are you a Hunter, or are you like us?" Shikamaru asked the stranger, not completely sure how to react.

"I'm like you, in a way. I am as far beyond the Hunters as you are beyond normal humans." The stranger replied.

So he wasn't a part of Neji, but a separate entity altogether.

"I can't tell you everything, but don't be alarmed, I have your interests at heart, as well as that of your lover." He said.

"What are you doing in our subconscious?" Shikamaru asked.

"I cannot contact you through normal means, or we will surely be caught. Orochimaru and his business partners are after you and your friends for your abilities, they have sent your descriptions everywhere. You must be very careful when you are not in space." The stranger advised him.

"Why are you helping us?" Shikamaru continued.

"Because I need your help." Was the stranger's answer.

"Not to be rude, but why should we help you?" Shikamaru questioned him, he didn't appreciate being led on like this.

"If you do not, then I can guarantee you that Neji will share my fate."

"Is that a threat?" Shikamaru bristled, not one to back down when those he cared about were at stake.

"Not at all, it is a warning, the plans of those who have caught me don't bode well for you or the rest of your friends either."

Shikamaru wasn't sure how to answer this, but before he could say anything, he could see what appeared to be a sandstorm in the distance.

"I can't stay much longer, or they might trace me. But I will tell you more soon enough." Was the last thing he heard the stranger say before he and Neji woke up.

"Hey, get up you two! We're at Jiraiya's!" Naruto's knocking on the bedroom door quickly jolted them back to consciousness.

Neji and Shikamaru quickly dressed, joined by the others as they all rubbed their eyes and stretched awake before entering the loading bay, greeted by the old Perverted Hermit and his scantily clad female robot.

Author's notes: No prizes for guessing who the masked stranger is. And yes, I hinted at one-sided SasuNaru, that pairing's just been done to death so I don't wanna use it that much, but I make references to it for fun.


	4. Roll of the Dice

The Konoha Project

By: Lone Ronin

Chapter 4: Roll of the Dice

Neji and Shikamaru quickly got dressed and left Kyuubi, entering the hangar of Jiraiya's docking station. It was a short walk to the main living space, which had a huge computer console with monitors that took up the walls, constantly sending Jiraiya streams of information. His finances as people purchased his porn, communications from his associates, areas on earth and throughout the galaxy that he secretly monitored with computer probes, as well as a few of his favorite movies with questionable content were all coming in at once to the main computer, playing on different screens.

The two shinobi entered the living space to find everyone else already making themselves at home.

"There must be some kinda way out of here, said the drunk man to the thief. There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief…" without a hint of irony to their current situation, Kiba tried to impress Narutina the fembot with his impression of Jimi Hendrix; she appeared charmed by his attempts sing to her.

"You should save your energy until I update her software. She can't process what you're trying to do, so she's programmed to humor you." Shino informed Kiba as he hooked the robot up to his laptop computer.

"Is it safe to watch now?" Hinata covered her eyes and clutched Sakura's arm as she and much of the rest of the team sat before another screen with a classic movie playing.

"I'll let you know when the alien bursts out of his chest." Sakura said, her eyes fixed on the screen as it reached the scene with the facehugger.

"Parasitoid aliens coming out of people's chests; this is as creepy as it gets." Ino mused.

"At least they're not real, Hunters are." Chouji said as he, Lee and Tenten slurped soda and munched on popcorn and chips, as Naruto sat at the kitchen table with Jiraiya as they looked over the bag of diamonds.

"Hm, these are quite nice." Jiraiya said, eyeing the emerald with a magnifier.

"Well, how much can you get for me?" Naruto said impatiently.

"You could fence them, but that would take some time, they're still quite hot." Jiraiya commented as he inspected the gems with a magnifying glass as Neji and Shikamaru approached them.

"Actually, I've got a much better use in mind for these diamonds. We'll talk about a plan to get some money later." The old pervert whispered before turning to the pair.

* * *

"Can you tell me what you remember from when they captured you?" Jiraiya asked as he poked through Neji's scalp, examining the faint scars.

"Not too much..." Neji started, then swallowed, looking uncomfortable.

"After about a week of the brainwashing equipment, it was hard to tell what was real and what wasn't." he started to break out in a cold sweat, as memories that he would sooner forget began to rise to the surface.

Seeing him visibly upset, Jiraiya decided not to push the subject any more.

"Hm, I see. They put some rather elaborate equipment into you." The old man finished looking at the implants and let Neji fix his hair back into place.

"The implants you have do a number of things. First off, they're tracking devices. You're safe right now as the equipment on my ship scrambles the signal, but the moment you leave here, they'll be able to find you any time you're in range of their computer network, and it covers a considerable part of the galaxy. They also prevent you from harming certain individuals."

"What would happen if I tried?" Neji asked.

"Let's just say you're not going to like it." Jiraiya answered.

"So can you take them out?" Shikamaru asked.

"Just because I know what they are, doesn't mean I can remove them, they're quite grown in at rather important parts of your brain. I was the The Konoha Project's programmer, not a brain surgeon, but I know someone who is."

"Who is he?" Naruto asked.

"She comes from a wealthy and powerful family of doctors, businessmen, researchers and surgeons, much like the Hyuugas, as close to a modern day princess as you can come." Jiraiya replied.

"Shino's been looking for her since Kyuubi docked. How are you doing with the last known coordinates that I gave you?" he turned to the insect user.

"She just sent an email, says she'll call in a few minutes." Shino answered, not looking up from his typing.

A nearby screen flickered on, revealing a rather annoyed blond woman with gold eyes and very ample breasts.

"What do you want Jiraiya? Trying to make another voyeur video for your site?" she glared at the camera.

"What ever would give you that idea?" Jiraiya asked as innocently as he could.

The woman was having none of it.

"Don't get cute, you never call me unless you want something."

"Aw, don't be that way, after all the fun we've been through? Actually, I have a rather nice proposition for you. I'm sure it would go a long way towards paying off those debts you always seem to owe, we both know what sticklers those lenders are about money." The old man hinted at the prospect of a payday.

"Fine, but this better be good. If you want to see me, then here's my coordinates, I'll be waiting."

"Wow, did you see those knockers?" Kiba practically drooled after the transmission ended.

"Will you stop thinking about trying to get laid all the time? They're probably not even real." Ino reprimanded him.

"Don't be blindsided by her appearances. She may be beautiful from years of the finest anti-aging treatments and plastic surgeries of our time, but inside, her personal tragedies and lifestyle have made her a bitter old hag inside." Jiraiya warned them.

"What made her that way?" Sakura asked.

"All the men she has ever loved have predeceased her, not just her boyfriends, but also her father and younger brother died tragically. For a time, she joined the Konoha project I believe partially to escape her anguish and into my comforting arms, before leaving the project over disagreements with a number of issues, particularly the way Orochimaru did his work and my own, professional conduct. As of late, she's been drowning her sorrows in her research, when she's not trying to drink and gamble herself to death." He did his best attempt at being poetic.

Very aware of the dynamics between men and women, Tenten saw where this was going.

"Your relationship with her didn't end well, did it?" she asked.

"No." Jiraiya hung his head.

"Just so you know, Orochimaru knew I would probably all call her, so she's being watched against her will and we're being drawn into a trap." Jiraiya quickly picked himself up.

"How do you know?" Shikamaru asked.

"She was actually rather happy to see me." He explained.

* * *

Naruto and the rest of the group wandered into the entertainment complex known as Rumors on the colony New Las Vegas, a satellite which orbited one of Jupiter's moons, Europa. The lavish club was packed with well dressed people in their teens and twenties. Dressed in stylish clothing to blend in with the crowd, Naruto and the rest of his crew were let in without a problem. Jiraiya had tried to get into the club, but the bouncer wouldn't let him go in, probably because he was so old.

Jiraiya had claimed that this was her favorite place to hang around and they were sure to find her in this particular club because apparently it was the most notorious gambling colony in the galaxy, where she liked to gamble big, but often seemed to lose big almost as often.

"So she's somewhere in here?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, Jiraiya gave Akamaru a coat with her scent, he says her smell is all over this place." Kiba said as Akamaru followed quietly at his feet.

"I just hope this old hag can really do what Jiraiya says she can." Naruto said as they began to fan out into the crowd.

"Don't talk about her that way! We need her to treat Neji!" Sakura reprimanded Naruto as she took a warning swipe at him.

"Well, that's what he calls her!" Naruto said as he dodged her.

As they entered the balcony area, they couldn't help but take in the amazing view. Overlooking the lavish casino on the lower level, there was also a nearby bar and restaurant stocked with the best food and liquor money could buy, as well as an arcade and dance floor, packed with patrons and laid out in an open style. Neji discreetly used his abilities to look around.

"She's not on this level, but there seems to be a lot of rooms underneath the lower floor, not open to the public." Neji said as he scanned the building.

"Are there people down there? What about any stairs leading to the hidden lower floors?" Shikamaru asked.

"I'm not sure, it's hard to look around with so many people. We'll have to go down to the floor." He replied.

"There he is. How did you get past the bouncer?" Ino asked as Jiraiya caught up with them.

"I bribed him with some free porn subscriptions." she rolled her eyes at his reply.

"Okay, let's get to it." Naruto said as they spread out to various parts of the casino.

* * *

Pretending to be on a girl's night out, Sakura, Hinata and Ino approached the card tables. It was true they were looking for Tsunade, but the hope was to make some much-needed money while they were there as well. Normally the odds favored the house, but having ninja abilities gave them a distinctive edge.

"Sakura, how do you play Blackjack?" Hinata asked, having never been much of a gambler.

"Face cards are ten and aces are one or eleven. You need to get closer then the dealer to twenty one in order to win." Sakura answered.

"Go ahead and try it." Ino said.

"You ladies new at this?" the dealer asked the attractive ladies as they sat down.

"This is just our friend's first time here, so go easy on her." Ino smiled and winked, flirting with him.

Although they simply appeared to be friends out for some fun, Hinata was really checking the cards in the deck with her abilities and signaled to either Ino or Sakura if they should ask for a card and when to bet big.

* * *

Over at the roulette wheel, Kiba was on a streak as Shino sat by and quietly watched.

"Black 24, you win again." The worker said in amazement as he passed Kiba his chips, who smiled as Akamaru barked at his feet in approval.

"What can I say? Must just be a good day." Kiba mused.

He appeared to be placing his chips randomly, but Shino's insects moved the ball either onto his color or his number bets each time. After a few minutes, Shino leaned over.

"I'm going over to the slots. Don't be too concerned if you lose now and then, the camera and pit bosses are watching us." Shino whispered to him before walking to the machines.

The insect user didn't acknowledge Chouji as he walked by the slots, or react when a number of the slot machines including the one Chouji was using hit jackpots all at once.

"I won! All right!" Chouji cheered with the other winners.

* * *

"Lee, hurry up and pick something, the others are having a great time." Tenten complained, not sure what they could actually play and win at without any bloodline abilities.

"Dance Dance Revolution! And they're having a contest! Oh, oh, Tenten, Tenten, please, please, please, can we…" Lee tugged at Tenten's arm as he pointed excitedly towards a nearby video game contest at the arcade section.

"Okay, relax Lee." Tenten tried to keep him from getting too excited as she turned to the rest of the group.

"We'll make a distraction and pocket some cash. Just creep by while we win the DDR freestyle tournament hands down." The female ninja instructed Jiraiya, Naruto, Neji and Shikamaru.

"Can we do Butterfly? And Cow Girl? And Paranoia Max 300? And…" Lee listed off all his favorite songs.

"We're going, we're going." Tenten said as she and Lee quickly hurried down the stairs to enter the contest, selecting the fastest songs and hardest settings.

"Now remember Lee, we don't want to start talking with anyone too much before they start asking difficult questions about where we're from or how we learned to play so good."

* * *

"Remember to practice every day, and try your hardest!" Lee called to his students as they began to leave the dojo at the end of their lesson.

"See you next week, Lee-sensei!" The kids said as their parents came to pick them up.

The performance studio fell silent, with classes finished for the day as Lee tidied up before retiring to the tiny apartment he shared with Tenten above where they worked. They had adapted their taijutsu abilities and become successful martial arts and dance instructors at a martial arts, dance and gymnastics studio and found they loved to teach. But knowing nothing about the history of their new home as well as Lee's personality had earned them a reputation in the neighborhood as 'those weird kids'.

As Lee opened the door to their apartment above the studio, he found the door wouldn't completely open because of the stacks of disks and other piles of books and old game consoles Tenten had made.

"What's all this?" he asked.

"There you are, Lee, I thought we'd try to learn about the history of pop culture today. We can play some video games, I also rented a whole set of movies from the turn of the 20th century. Do you feel like 'The Matrix', or 'Kill Bill'?" Tenten answered.

"I don't feel like watching TV or playing video games, I need to train." Lee answered.

"Lee you have to at least know something about the culture of this place if we want to blend in. People talk about things like how croc shoes have come back in style and I don't even know when they first went out. When you said you had never heard of Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee, everyone looked at us like we were from outer space!"

"But we are from outer space." Lee answered.

"Yes, but we don't want anyone to know that." Tenten sweatdropped.

* * *

"What the heck is that?" Neji asked as he watched Lee and Tenten hurry over to the arcade, having no idea what they were doing.

"Oh that? It's called Dance Dance Revolution. You step on the corresponding arrows as they appear in time with the music. A freestyle contest is where they try to get more points by performing other dance moves during the song, such as hitting the pad with their knees and hands." Shikamaru explained.

"And they pay money if you can do it better then others?" Neji asked.

"Yeah. I've done it a couple of times, it's kind of fun." Shikamaru replied.

For a few minutes, they both watched people begin to take notice Lee and Tenten's knee drops and other trick moves, putting their ninjutsu skills to work.

"I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it. You like to-" Lee sang with the song's opening line.

"Move it!" the crowd finished.

Cheers went up as if they were rock stars. Shikamaru held back a laugh as Neji looked at his teammates as if they had lost their minds.

"They look like they're having seizures." Neji commented.

The crowd began to swell, providing a convenient cover for them to slip through unnoticed. With everyone screaming and cheering as Lee and Tenten performed a difficult song while facing backwards, doing jumps, turns and knee drops, Naruto, Jiraiya, Neji and Shikamaru were able to make their way to the floor.

"Hey, it could be worse." Shikamaru said.

"How?" Neji asked.

"It could have been a karaoke contest." He shrugged.

"I'll have to give you that one."

* * *

The entire group carried on, unaware that the security cameras were zeroing in on them.

"Something's not right." The guard at the monitoring console in security called his supervisor over.

"These twelve individuals with a little white dog who all came in together. The ones gambling are winning a lot more then normal, I think they're doing something screwy." He pointed out as they reviewed the tapes.

The camera zoomed to Ino, Sakura and Hinata as they played blackjack, followed by the others at various parts of the casino.

The supervisor rewound and replayed their recorded actions in slow motion.

"They are winning a lot, but I can't tell how. No sleight of hand, and they don't appear to have any electronic devices. The microchips in the cards and chips all appear to be normal." The supervisor wondered out loud.

"Oh well, it doesn't matter anyways." He said as the computer finished scanning their faces and returned matches with its database, revealing that they were all wanted fugitives, and the bounties offered for their capture, amounts of money that were enough to run the casino for months.

"Get everyone from security and use our best weapons, they're all classified as-" the supervisor started before a blade was put under his throat.

* * *

The novelty of watching Lee and Tenten playing DDR finally wore off as Neji and Shikamaru began to walk down to the floor and past the arcade with Naruto and Jiraiya close behind. As Neji scanned past the restaurant area to the arcade, something caught his eye.

"I see her, she's sitting with a younger woman who has short black hair who's pouring her tea, in a hidden chamber underneath the bar." Neji said to Shikamaru, Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Ah, that's Shizune, her graduate student. How do we get in?" Jiraiya asked.

"There's a trapdoor under the floor behind the bar."

Sure enough, there was a discreet trapdoor that was hardly noticeable in front of the bar to patrons unless you knew what to look for, but was easy to see from behind the bar.

"You two stay out here by the bar and let me speak to her first, or she might run off. Come on, Naruto." Jiraiya instructed them.

* * *

"That was our escape shuttle, they said they would be here in about a half hour." Shizune said as she turned off her wrist communicator.

"Relax a bit, Shizune. Orochimaru won't catch us." Tsunade reassured her.

"How can you be sure?" Shizune asked.

"I lost almost 30 000 tokens at the slots and tables today." Her teacher replied.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"It's only a bad omen when I win a lot." Tsunade answered.

"If you say so." Shizune sighed as she poured some tea for Tsunade in the opulent hidden chamber.

They both looked up in surprise as the trapdoor opened above them and a brief confrontation took place.

"Hey, this area's off limits." The bartender tried to stop whoever it was.

"I'm here for a prearranged meeting." Jiraiya replied as he handed the man a porn DVD and a small stack of cash.

"Right this way, sir." The bartender accepted the bribe and let the old pervert into the hidden room.

"Hey, this is a private room, what do you think you're doing?" Shizune demanded, pulling a switchblade.

"Don't worry, I know him." Tsunade had her student stand down.

"I can't believe you came here to save me, even after I warned you that it was a trap." Tsunade said to Jiraiya, she clearly didn't appreciate the rescue.

"You know how cute you are when you're angry?" Jiraiya ignored her statement and tried to change the subject.

"Quit the sweet talk, what's this business about money?" Tsunade replied.

"Do you ever remember this little project we once collaborated on, you know, where we spent the better part of our careers constructing an entire world and played God with people's lives, all for our own scientific curiosities, to serve a shadowy elite who only care about money and power?" Jiraiya answered as Naruto followed him down the spiral staircase.

Naruto looked at the blond lady in the green flowing silk dress with a large chest and sharp gold eyes being served tea by a younger lady with short dark hair and a blue full length dress.

"Naruto, this is Tsunade, and her student, Shizune. Orochimaru, Tsunade and I were all Sandaime's students when we worked on the Konoha Project. She had a hand in creating all of you, like a mother, almost." Jiraiya introduced her.

Catching sight of Naruto, Tsunade's expression went from just unhappy to completely sour, as if she were saying 'How dare you?'. For a moment, Naruto wondered if she was going to stab Jiraiya, or at least slap him really hard. He watched her gaze, not sure what to make of it.

Tsunade looked at Naruto for a second, a brief second of horror flashed in her eyes before she turned back to Jiraiya and continued to glare at him. Naruto wasn't sure if her anger was at Jiraiya's presence or his own. But from the expression on Tsunade's face, Naruto could tell she didn't like the fact that Jiraiya had brought him to her.

"So Orochimaru is still working on that Konoha Project, even after the colony was destroyed?" she said.

"You see living proof before you." Jiraiya answered, meaning Naruto.

"Why should I help you? Orochimaru owns practically the world and all you have is that pathetic ship where you beam out your smut into space." The blond lady asked.

Jiraiya responded by producing the bag with the diamonds and letting her have a peek inside. Tsunade's eyes glittered at the gems.

"Now you know if you stay here, that if Orochimaru doesn't catch you, your creditors will. If you come with us, I guarantee we can get you out of here alive and in one piece." He reasoned with her.

Tsunade was silent for a moment, thinking it over.

"Tell you what, let's settle this with a gamble. Shizune?" she signaled her student.

Shizune opened a deck, fanned the cards to show they were legitimate and shuffled it before letting Jiraiya cut the pack.

"High card draw. I win, you get out of my sight and he stays with me." Tsunade pointed to Naruto.

"Deal." Jiraiya said.

"What?" Naruto cried out in disbelief.

"What about if you win?" Tsunade ignored Naruto as she talked to Jiraiya.

"Well, I'm not quite sure what I want right now. How about if I ask for it later?" he answered.

"Fine. Draw your card." Tsunade challenged.

Jiraiya reached in the pack.

"Ah, the knave, something I can relate to." Jiraiya said, he had drawn a jack of diamonds.

Tsunade looked at her card, smirked, and prepared to turn it over. But before she could, Naruto put his hand on hers.

"Hold it, I should draw a card too!"

"Jiraiya and I have quite a history. We've competed since our college days, and worked with Orochimaru for years, since the founding of the Konoha project. What place do you, a space fugitive, and mere genin, have in this?"

"Orochimaru took one of my friends and he destroyed my home, and everyone who I care about and know for a fact is still alive, is on the floor above our heads, about to risk their lives to save you. I've got a stake in this, so I should be allowed to draw a card too." He insisted.

"So what do you want if you win?" Tsunade asked.

"You come with us, fix whatever was done to Neji and tell me how you were involved in the Konoha Project. And we keep the diamonds." Naruto answered boldly.

"That's it? Fine, go ahead, but I seriously doubt you can beat my hand. What will you wager if you lose?"

"I'll leave my crew behind and come with you, no questions asked." Naruto replied.

"That's Jiraiya's wager." Tsunade refused his offer.

"I'm not Jiraiya's to wager!" Naruto protested.

"Then how about this; I'll accept you, plus your cute little frog purse and all your money if you lose." She held up his wallet.

"Hey, when did you take my froggie?" Naruto asked, not noticing when she had managed to lift it.

"Hope you're a better gambler then you are a ninja. Now draw."

As Naruto grabbed his card and turned it over to reveal the king of hearts, Tsunade's expression went from sour to teeth-grinding fury.

"Well, what's your card?" Naruto asked, angry about Tsunade handling the entire situation as though it were some big game.

"Tsunade-sama, there's some trouble in the casino." The barkeep called out from above the trapdoor before she could show her card.

She quickly calmed down.

"Let's leave it that you won, Naruto. Shizune, pack our things, we're going with them." Tsunade said.

As the sounds of a commotion came from the floor above and she began to gather their things, Shizune took a discreet peek at the card Tsunade had left behind.

It had been the queen of clubs.

* * *

'They're coming, you need to get your friends out of there, right away.' Haku spoke to Neji, although Neji knew he was really somewhere far off, possibly even on another planet.

'Who is?' Neji asked back telepathically.

'An operative of Orochimaru's.'

'Wait, just one?'

'Don't let your guard down just because of that, he's extremely dangerous, if he catches you, you're all done for.'

Sitting at the bar, Neji suddenly became uneasy. He started to fidget and look around.

Seeing his distress, Shikamaru left his spot near the casino floor and moved towards the bar. Before he could say anything, Neji suddenly grabbed Shikamaru and dragged him into one of the booths at the restaurant, pressing their faces close to appear as if they were sharing a tender moment, although he was really trying to hide their faces.

"We have to get out of here." He whispered.

"What's going on?" Shikamaru asked.

"Haku told me a bounty hunter is coming." Neji answered.

Shikamaru fought his urge to ask 'Are you sure?', worried Neji would start making a scene before anyone could cash in their casino tokens. Peeking over the booth, he was also able to make eye contact with Kiba and Shino, who quickly walked to the edge of the casino and began to cash in their tokens. As Sakura, Hinata and Ino realized that something was wrong, they left the card table and started to cash in. Unlike Kiba and Shino, the worker at the cash in didn't give them their money, but picked up the phone and seemed to be trying to call security.

Now he was worried. The cash worker seemed to be having trouble with the call and was now talking with a nearby security guard. Realizing they might decide to seal off the area, it was time to leave. Now.

"I'll get Naruto and Jiraiya, you get Lee and Tenten." Shikamaru instructed Neji.

Lee and Tenten were still on the other side of the casino at the arcade, where half the people there didn't even realize something was amiss. Neji quickly pushed through the packed crowd, trying frantically to get their attention.

He moved as fast as he could without being noticed, past the bar, halfway across the casino, as he reached the restaurant area, he could see a pale individual sneaking through the crowd of video game players, reaching for weapons to stun his teammates with.

"Lee, Tenten!" Neji tried to shout over the music, but with the cheering of the crowd and the noise coming from the game, it was useless.

'He already knows where everyone is, don't bother trying to hide yourself.' Haku informed him.

Searching for a weapon, he spotted a shotgun kept behind the bar.

"Lee, Tenten!" Neji shouted again.

Finally hearing him, Lee turned to see Neji with the gun, aiming it right at his direction. Before he or Tenten were able to react, Neji fired, but he wasn't aiming for them. They turned to see Kimimaro keeled over with a giant wound on the back of his right shoulder from the shotgun blast. To their shock, he rose up, still alive and seemingly unfazed as Neji kicked out the spent shotgun shell and ran towards them.

Grabbing some cutlery from the nearby restaurant tables, Tenten used her ninja skills that she had kept in top condition, wielding the knives like they were kunai, she lodged one in the back of Kimimaro's head.

Kimimaro quickly got up and pulled the butter knife from the back of his head. Lee tried to kick him in the chest, but the found his foot stopped by the operative's own ribcage, which he somehow managed to stick out from his own chest. Lee brought up his other foot cracking the operative's head in a roundhouse, but he didn't seem affect by the blow. All hell broke loose in the club as patrons ran screaming for the exits.

Neji fired the shotgun again, knocking Kimimaro back with a direct hit to the chest. Seemingly unfazed, Kimimaro jumped back up and came at Neji as he produced a blade from his forearm. Neji raised the shotgun above his head to block it, bending and rendering it useless. In a surprisingly one sided fight, Kimimaro found himself being beaten back as Neji tossed the shotgun aside and skillfully dodged his blades, only losing about a handful of his long hair as he struck back with Jyuuken.

Kimimaro retreated briefly, but as Lee tried to approach him, Neji lashed out at his teammate, having lost sight of who his enemies were.

Tenten quickly realized this and pulled Lee back as Neji continued to beat Kimimaro back.

A sound behind him made him turn, before he suddenly found himself frozen in place; Shikamaru had pinned him with his shadow.

"Stop, stop Neji! We have to get out of here!" Shikamaru pleaded.

But Neji seemed to be in an altered state of mind as he fought against Shikamaru's shadow. Caught off guard by his sudden strength, Shikamaru struggled to try and hold Neji still.

Hearing the commotion as she came out from behind the bar with Naruto, Jiraiya and Shizune, Tsunade pushed past the crowd to the arcade.

"Does Kyuubi have a landing bay?" Tsunade asked Jiraiya.

"Yes." He answered.

"Then take Naruto and Shizune out of here. I've got my own ship." She instructed him.

Just as Neji had managed to break out of Shikamaru's shadow and knock him back with a strike to the shoulder, Tsunade calmly walked up and whispered something in his ear. Neji suddenly froze as his eyes rolled back in his head before he fell forward, Shikamaru catching his limp form.

"Neji!" Shikamaru shouted as he tried to shake him awake, but he was out cold.

"What did you do to him?" Shikamaru turned to Tsunade.

"A master word. He'll be fine in 30 minutes." she replied.

As Kimamaro tried to resume his attack, Tsunade stuck an explosive note on him before flinging him through a nearby window, turning calmly from the resulting explosion.

"He won't let that stop him, let's go." She said.

"Don't tell me that after two shotgun blasts, a knife lodged halfway into his head, a fight with Lee and Neji, followed by an explosive tag that he's still alive." Shikamaru said in disbelief.

"I'm not even sure he can be killed." Tsunade said as she grabbed Neji and Shikamaru before he could protest, hauling them both off the ground with her amazing strength as they ran for the ship.

It was still chaos in the ship dock as everyone running from the commotion scrambled to his or her vehicles in a fight to leave the area.

"Where's Tsunade and…" Sakura asked Naruto as he and Jiraiya ran aboard the ship.

Suddenly a loud crash shook the ship as Tsunade's smaller ship made a sloppy landing into the landing bay.

"Never mind." She said.

"Floor it Shino!" Naruto said as they hightailed it for the nearest wormhole into deep space.

* * *

Unaware of what was going on around him, Neji wandered around in his vivid dream. He looked down and found himself in long white robes, what it was customary for Hyuuga members to wear. He was standing on a bridge, with snow falling around him. Hearing a slight noise, he looked behind and thought he saw Haku fading into the mist, but he wasn't quite sure. He heard a familiar voice calling him on the other side of the bridge.

"Father?" Neji asked.

"That's it, come here." Hizashi beckoned him with a warm smile.

"Stop Neji! It's a trick." Hiashi's voice called faintly.

Who is this person in my dream, Haku?" Neji wasn't quite sure why he said it, but his dream suddenly became a nightmare.

"So he is here. Where is Haku?" the presence pretending to be his father demanded, showing its true intentions.

"Don't let him trick you!" Hiashi called out.

"Don't interfere!" the imposter's fingernails suddenly became long thin razors and slashed at Hiashi, causing him to fade like smoke in the wind.

"You're not my father! Don't come near me!" Neji drew back.

His awareness of his surroundings began to melt around him as he suddenly looked down and realized to his horror that he was restrained again, just like in the lab.

He didn't want to go back there, he felt like a wild animal caught in a trap, helpless as the technicians started prodding him. He couldn't run!

* * *

Neji's scream brought Shikamaru running. 


End file.
